Economical on-site generation of power in conjunction with renewable sources has long been a goal of building design to provide energy independence, conserve fossil fuels, and to reduce emission of combustion products. Several concepts are described in the prior art using solar energy, free wind energy or wind dissipated by a structure to provide power to buildings. These systems are inefficient and provide inadequate storage for the intermittent energy recovery. The prior art also describes constant load gas turbine operation with liquid air cooling, but for high fuel consumption grid connected central station use. With the exception of storage and transfer of electrical energy between buildings and vehicles, the prior art does not describe combined and coordinated systems for both instant and reserve use.
As described below, a number of building energy recovery systems have been developed and patented. However, each of these systems has significant disadvantages.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,765,309 issued to Tallal et-al describes a fixed wind turbine with ducted discharge to the rear of a building for recovery of wind impact on roof tops. However, this system is highly inefficient due to its reliance upon extensive ducting, as to duct friction and low suction behind the building create a weak differential pressure. Further, this system requires all power generated to be stored in batteries, which have low capacity per unit mass and recharge relatively slowly.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,956,902, issued to Fields, describes a windmill for supplementing energy to a building. The windmill recovers free wind, which is inefficient due to weak suction. Therefore, this system is insufficient to meet building power requirement. Further, this system also requires all power generated to be stored in batteries.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,229,941, issued to Hope, describes electric generation using combined solar and free wind energy sources. Wind recovery is inefficient due to weak suction. Further, this system also requires all power generated to be stored in batteries.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,455,834, issued to Earle, describes a windmill with a compressed air storage system for providing energy to a building. The windmill recovers free wind, which is inefficient due to weak suction and, consequently, is insufficient to meet building power requirement. In addition, no cooling is provided for the air liquefier.
Other patents have shown the use of liquefied air in connection with power generation. However, these systems also have significant drawbacks. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,227,374, issued to Oxley, describes a method for storage of excess energy produced by renewable sources or by a central power station. The energy is used to liquefy atmospheric nitrogen and oxygen, which is stored at cryogenic temperature and used, in combination with a heat source, for powering a heat engine. However, this system does not use the liquefied gases effectively to provide engine compression cooling and supplementary recovered energy and transfer of liquefied gases is not considered.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,920,759, issued to Wakana et-al, describes a liquid air cooled constant load gas turbine for central power station use. Liquid air normally provides engine compression cooling to minimize compression work and the engine drives an air liquefier during off-peak operation to make-up coolant. However, this system also does not use the liquefied gases effectively to provide engine compression cooling and supplementary recovered energy. In addition the transfer of liquefied gases is not considered.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 6,097,104 issued to Russell describes a fixed vertical axis wind turbine with discharge between two buildings for recovery of channeled wind impact energy across the turbine. This system does not benefit from high differential pressure due to the combination of directed wind impact and wind induced suction in proximity of the edges of the building. Application is limited to appropriately spaced buildings.
Therefore, there is a need for an energy recovery system for distributed energy application that recovers wind energy dissipated by stationary structures that has adequate suction to provide efficient operation that meet building power requirements, that does not require extensive ducting and its associated losses, creates a liquefied gas from the energy generated thereby, effectively uses the liquefied gases to store recovered wind energy during periods of above average wind speed while providing compression cooling for engine operation during periods of below average wind speed, and allows for the transfer of liquefied gases for similar uses, such as motor vehicle engine compression cooling.